Bus driver crushed under own vehicle as student jumps light

In a freak incident, a Himachal Roadways bus driver was crushed under the bus’s rear wheel after he fell out of the vehicle on applying brakes.

The victim, Sushil Kumar, 45, was a native of Kangra.

The incident took place around 2pm on Thursday when a Maruti Alto car being driven by Varinda Kataria, 18, resident of Sector 49, allegedly jumped the red light and rammed into the bus at a traffic intersection.

The accused, a student of Class 12 at one of the prominent convent schools of the city, does not have a driving licence.

Police said Sushil Kumar was driving the Himachal Roadways bus towards the Inter-State Bus Terminus in Sector 43 from Faidan village side, when he halted at the Sector 45-46/49-50 traffic intersection.

He proceeded when the lights turned green, but the car driven by Varinda, who was accompanied by her mother, jumped the red light. When Sushil saw the car approaching, he immediately applied brakes, and due to the jolt fell out of the bus as he was not wearing a seat belt, before being crushed under the vehicle’s rear tyre. Meanwhile, the car also hit the bus from the right side.

Passersby rushed to help Sushil after sounding the police. He was rushed to the GMSH in Sector 16 where he was declared brought dead. He is survived by a wife and two children. The body will be handed over to victim’s family after an autopsy on Friday.

A case under sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way) and 304A (causing death by negligence) has been registered against Varinda, who was arrested and later released on bail.

‘DRIVER, NOT MY DAUGHTER, AT FAULT’

After the mishap, accused Varinda’s father alleged that the bus driver was at fault as he was driving at a high speed. The accused’s parents also claimed that she was a minor, raising eyebrows over why she was allowed to drive a four-wheeler, that too, without a licence.Deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Surjit Malik said Varinda was an adult as she was born in February 1996. “This was clarified through her documents. Her family was claiming that she was a minor, which led to delay in registration of a case against her.”